Fragrance and the problem with 'parfum'

Fragrance in products is a hot topic at the moment, so in this article I'm going to explore what fragrance really is, what the issues are and why labelling can be misleading. 

Photo by Omkar Jadhav on Unsplash

When you hear the words fragrance and perfume, you probably think mainly of bottles of scent from brands like Chanel, Gucci and Dior. However, fragrance is really a much wider topic, encompassing all cosmetics. Those without sensitive skin issues may not have thought much about fragrances in their cosmetics, but for those with allergies, it can be a central concern. 

But what really is 'fragrance'? The dictionary defines it simply as a 'pleasant, sweet smell' and so, scientifically speaking, it can be any chemical mixture that has a smell or odour. In cosmetics, we use the term 'fragrance' to mean any ingredient that is added specifically to give the product a scent. Some ingredients, such as essential oils, can have therapeutic benefits in addition to having a nice smell, so they can serve as a fragrance and something else in a product. This brings us onto a crucial distinction. 

Natural versus synthetic
One of the most important things to understand about fragrance is the difference between natural and synthetic. Essential oils are distilled (or occasionally extracted through other methods) directly from plant matter, so they are pure, concentrated plant oils. They usually have a strong scent, but because they're natural the scent gradually fades over time in the product. Since obtaining essential oils involves growing large volumes of plants (sometimes a staggering amount of plant matter goes into producing a bottle of essential oil) and then distilling them, it is a labour intensive process, and consequently these oils are very expensive. On the other hand, a synthetic fragrance oil is artificially created in a laboratory and so is much cheaper. This is a sure way to spot fake essential oils, which are unfortunately offered for sale in some places, particularly in countries where their sale is unregulated. 

For example, it takes around 60 roses to make a single drop of rose oil, known as Rose Otto, which explains why you can expect to pay around £70-£100 for a 10ml bottle. You can pick up a 10ml bottle of rose fragrance oil, however, for around £2. 

Fragrance oils frequently have a longer lasting scent than the equivalent essential oil, so you might be thinking by now, aren't fragrance oils better? Well, not really. Some people find the scent of fragrance oils overwhelming or to be rather chemical, which isn't surprising as they are synthetic. The real problems come with the chemical breakdown of the oils. Without getting too technical, essential oils are very complex substances with often many different chemical components, but these are phytochemicals, which animal bodies have been encountering since the first amoebas evolved. Fragrance oils also contain a large number of different chemical compounds, but these are synthetic, which means we don't have very much data on how they react within the body. Safety testing data may proclaim that a substance is safe, but this is usually based on historical animal tests, which are questionable at best. The substance was usually tested in isolation, which doesn't reflect real-life use, and of course humans are not rabbits. 

The upshot of all this is that allergies are common in response to synthetic fragrances. Now, you may have heard that essential oils contain allergens too. This is true, but it's worth bearing in mind that government legislation isn't always the best guide to the science. The EU mandates that certain chemicals have to be listed on the label if they are contained within a particular essential oil. These are things like limonene, citral and linalool. You've probably seen them on cosmetics labels. The reason that these substances have been chosen out of all the hundreds found within essential oils is that some people have reported allergies to them, but actually it is sometimes a very small number of people. It is important to remember that anyone can be allergic to anything, so just because a small number of people react to a substance, it doesn't mean that you will, even if you do have sensitive skin. Some aromatherapy experts feel that the allergen declaration system is unhelpful, as it misleads people into thinking they have allergies to substances that they actually don't. 

However, if you do identify that you are allergic to a certain substance, it may well be one other than the declarable allergens, which means you won't know whether that substance is in the product or not. If this is a problem for you, feel free to get in touch and I'll be happy to talk you through the chemical breakdown of my ingredients. 

Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash

Labelling
Now, time for a bit of history. When the EU cosmetic directives were being put together and it was decided that all ingredients must be listed on the label, using a system calling the International Nomenclature for Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI), some people objected. They were perfumiers, particularly the huge perfume houses of France. Their objection was that by listing all of their ingredients on the label, they would be forced to reveal their secret recipes for competitors to copy. In the end, they only agreed to sign up to the scheme on the condition that fragrance would be exempt from declaration. In other words, anything used to fragrance your product can be listed on the label as 'parfum', the INCI name for fragrance, and no more information needs to be given, unless there are declarable allergens involved which then need to be listed. 

The result of this is that if I as a formulator purchase a fragrance oil, the manufacturer is under no obligation to tell me what's in it. I therefore can't tell you as a customer what is in it or where it came from. Compare that to an essential oil, which is regulated in this country, so I know exactly what plant it was made from, what its chemical composition will be and where the plant was grown and processed. 

When it comes to labelling products as a formulator, you can choose how to label any fragrance ingredients. As a natural formulator, I don't use synthetic fragrances, and so the essential oils that I choose have therapeutic benefits and aren't just included as fragrance. Nonetheless, I could choose to write 'parfum' on the label instead of listing the individual oils. You'll find that most natural formulators, including myself, prefer to list out their essential oils, because we have nothing to hide in our products. 

Generally speaking, if you spot the word 'parfum' on the label of your cosmetic, it's a sure sign that it contains synthetic fragrance. There are, however, exceptions. One of these exceptions is certain proprietary blends of preservatives. Many essential oils contain compounds that are antimicrobial, so some manufacturers have isolated these compounds to create a safe, natural preservative. Of course, they don't want to reveal the exact blend that they have used, so the INCI name for this ingredient is 'parfum'. That's why you'll see this ingredient listed on my Luscious Lipstick, for example, as I needed an oil-based preservative to ensure that the lipstick would remain safe for use over time, and so I included the natural preservative Naticide®. This is allergen-free and just ensures that the lipstick won't start growing things after repeated use. I can't tell you exactly which essential oils were used in the blend, as the manufacturer keeps that information secret to prevent others from copying, but I can tell you that they are natural, plant-derived oils. 

I know that was a long and rambling article, so if you have any questions, please do get in touch!